ST LOUIS (LALATE) – A strong Papua New Guinea earthquake today 2014 has just struck near Taron. The Papua New Guinea earthquake today March 20, 2014 is one of the strongest to hit the region in recent weeks. No reports of injuries have yet to be indicated by news.

Officials tell news that a 5.4 magnitude Papua New Guinea earthquake started just after 4:44 am local time March 21st. The quake was shallow. Reps tell news that the quake started only thirty miles below sea level. As a result the quake could be felt nearby on land.

USGS indicates to news that the Papua New Guinea quake was twenty-nine miles southwest of Taron. The quake was seventy mile southeast of Kokopo and one hundred eighty miles east of Kimbe.

The region has suffered several significant quakes this year. In May 2012, a 6.7 magnitude quake hit the region. It was centered outside in New Guinea, roughly forty-one miles east of Goroka. The quake could be felt seventy miles south in Madang. USGS indicated to news at the time that the quake was roughly two hundred miles north of Port Moresby and one thousand five hundred miles from Brisbane.

USGS tells news that “There have been 22 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded in the New Guinea region since 1900.” They add “The dominant earthquake mechanisms are thrust and strike slip, associated with the arc-continent collision and the relative motions between numerous local microplates. The largest earthquake in the region was a M8.2 shallow thrust fault event in the northern Papua province of Indonesia that killed 166 people in 1996. “